Beautiful
by Rhiannon Starlight
Summary: Ginny Weasley is getting ready for the Halloween Ball. Her thoughts are about the past and her boyfriend, Harry Potter. Fluffy oneshot.


_This is a story dedicated to beautiful girls-pretty much all of us non-males, that is, although I think that Christina Aguilera's song is horrendous._

Ginny Weasley was up in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, running a brush through her fiery red hair. It had been almost seven years since it had last been cut, back when her hair barely touched her neck.

But now that she was seventeen, it was long, straight, and unmistakably beautiful. It reached down to her waist, and in it, she thought that she could see seven years' passage of time, like an orderly string of pearls.

At eleven years old the boyfriend that she had now had been her first crush. Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, still had his messy black hair and his startlingly bright green eyes, and it had taken until he was sixteen to notice her back. In the meantime, Ginny had had other boys-Michael Corner and Dean Thomas had both been decent partners while they lasted, and she had even managed to sneak a few kisses with Seamus Finnegan and Anthony Goldstein along the line.

But finally, she had Harry. During her first year of school she had always been too shy to speak to him. Later, though, he was the one who wanted to speak to her, and even tell her secrets that he wouldn't tell his friends.

"I feel like you understand me better than Ron and Hermione do," he had whispered in her ear one night.

And she somehow did.

Maybe it was because of the ordeals she had undergone. Being the youngest and only girl in a family of seven children, she knew what it was like not to belong. Having been possessed by Voldemort himself, and having fought face-to-face with his minions, she knew what it was like to be afraid.

_And maybe,_ Ginny thought hopefully to herself, _Maybe I'm just not the naïve little kid that I used to be._

She was not. From the shy little girl she had been years ago, she was now a young woman with knowledge and experience. From her fateful experience with Tom Riddle's enchanted diary, she now knew not to trust people just because they seemed friendly on the outside. And even before Voldemort had been destroyed for good, she had learned to pronounce his name, and hear it pronounced as well, without fear.

And now she was Head Girl in her final year of school, about to meet her man at the Halloween Ball tonight.

It was not like other Halloween celebrations from years past. This was a Ball meant only for fourth years and older, while the younger students had a separate celebration elsewhere. Alumni were also invited, and that was how she planned to see Harry tonight.

Harry had gained a great deal more of fame than he already had after he defeated Voldemort. It had helped his start on the Chudley Cannons Quidditch team as their Seeker, while Ginny's brother, his best friend Ron was a Chaser. He and other alumni on professional Quidditch teams planned to come back for the Ball, making it a prestigious and well-publicized event with their presence.

Ginny drew in her breath, feeling nervous as she looked in the mirror. She loved Harry very much for what he was, and her loved her, but somehow she didn't know if she was pretty enough for him. She knew that people would notice her by Harry's side, and she knew that her picture might even end up in The Daily Prophet alongside a scandalous story if she were identified as his girlfriend. She hated to think that she might be judged unworthy for Harry Potter, just because he was a superstar.

* * *

"Shut up, Ginny, you look fine," Rhiannon chastised her friend as the latter lamented about her looks. "You're really beautiful, and those idiot tabloid-scribblers would be insane not to think so." 

"Thanks, Rhiannon," Ginny replied sheepishly. Rhiannon was a nineteen-year old alumna who was also meeting a Quidditch-playing boyfriend at the Ball. She and Oliver Wood of Puddlemere United had been enemies at school, then friends, and then girlfriend and boyfriend. They hadn't always been shy around each other like Harry and Ginny had been, and Ginny envied them for that. Rhiannon and Oliver always knew what to say to each other, and they always worked as a team, like Ginny's twin brothers.

Rhiannon was doing Ginny's hair now, setting a few curls that spiraled gracefully down the sides of her friend's pretty face. She and Ginny both had a ring of lilies pinned to their hair, magically treated to glow and stay fresh for the entire evening.

"You look beautiful," Ginny said admiringly.

"Thank you, Ginny," Rhiannon laughed. "And so do you, as always. Now hold still while I do your makeup."

Rhiannon applied the same cherry stain to Ginny's lips and cheeks that she herself was wearing, and then Ginny's own mascara. After she was done, Ginny slipped on a pair of long silk gloves and Rhiannon snapped on a bunch of silver bracelets.

"What do you think?" asked Rhiannon.

They were looking at themselves in the mirror, two sets of red lips, two pairs of crystal earrings, and two crowns of lilies and baby's breath. A head of red hair and a head of dark brown hair of about the same length. Ginny's brown eyes and Rhiannon's blue eyes, both sparkling. Rhiannon was wearing a deep green satin dress with a cape, and Ginny's dress was cream-colored. They were both the products of the ancient Greek-style muggle fashions that became popular in the magical world after Voldemort's final defeat.

"How do I look?" Rhiannon asked, shyly.

"You look stunning," Ginny assured her. "Just think of the headings tomorrow morning in the papers: 'Young Gryffindor vixen steals heart of Puddlemore United Keeper'. That'll be a true story. I know that Oliver Wood thinks you're beautiful."

"Do you think the newspaper will see me as some kind of scarlet woman, like Hermione?" Rhiannon wondered aloud, her tone a bit more devilish than worried this time.

"No. You're too classy."

"Oh, thanks. But so is Hermione. And after having been with Viktor, she's going to have Ron."

Ginny shrugged. "If they call you a scarlet woman, it will be out of jealousy."

"That's a real comfort," Rhiannon laughed. "But they'll be too focused on you when you're with Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. After all…" She sighed. "For the thousandth time tonight, you're the one who really looks beautiful."

"Thanks, Rhiannon." Ginny grinned, finally believing it.

The two girls raced each other down the stairs to the ballroom, feeling beautiful, sophisticated, and ready to conquer the world.


End file.
